Mechanical Vengeance: A Lost Cause
by DJ Remix
Summary: RAU-9, a cyborg part of a secret military program, used to be normal, until they took his memory away. For years they tormented and tortured him, attempting to rip his very fiber of humanity out, but he resisted with little memory of his life before. He manages to escape, but knows many will try to rewire him for their own purpose, but there is one who will protect him.
1. Chapter 1

Mechanical Revenge: A Lost Cause chapter 1

He felt mindless, shrouded in fog as he stood silently, unaware of his surroundings. They usually did this to him, to control and brainwash him. What was his name? Where did he live? This didn't concern him, nor could he even remember. All he knew was the name they gave him: RAU-9. He knew he lived in a private cell, in a building fenced off from the rest of the world. As he felt the agonizing pain in his head, he tried to retain what he believed he knew. Out of nowhere, the pain stopped, as it had numerous times before. And as always, he remembered even less than before. Two voices echoed into the air as the fog began to disperse.

"What is your name?"

He stood there, paralyzed as the fog finally dispersed enough to let him see the room. He stood in the middle of a circular room made of plain grey stainless steel, approximately 20 feet high, with circular, tinted windows around the middle. The floor was made of grated iron, much like a sewer grate.

"From what I can remember… I am RAU-9…"

"Very good. When were you assigned here?"

"I… don't remember…"

"Well then, what is your main prerogative?"

RAU stood there mindlessly, he heard the whirring in his head, he thought long and hard about the question at hand. Eventually the answer struck him like lightning.

"My objective is to destroy those I am told to."

The side of him that maintained its humanity was disgusted at the words, yet at the same time, was glad he said them. RAU was met with more praise.

"Again, very good. Just a few more questions. First off, does the name Rebecca ring any bells?"

RAU thought even harder, but couldn't think of where he heard any name like that. He knew the name had some significance, but he couldn't remember what it was. Was it a friend? Was it a coworker of some old job? His memories brought back nothing but static and headache. This seemed to take half an hour for him, yet he knew it only took 3 seconds for the outside world.

"No, I don't recall anyone by that name."

"Good, final question, who is your family?"

The answer to this question was glued to his brain. They drilled it in relentlessly throughout the many times they rewired him, and that answer wasn't going away anytime soon.

"I have no family except those assigned to my squad."

RAU heard the voice talking to someone, they left the mic on by accident, the conversation droned on.

"I think we finally broke through."

"Whats to say he wont malfunction this time too?"

"Trust me, its working just fine, plus we can do this as many times as it takes."

"Fine… just bring him to his cell, we can begin his training later."

The first voice turned back to the mic, and spoke directly to RAU in a stern fashion.

"RAU-9, exit this room and head left, enter the room thats the fifth on your left."

The mic was shut off as RAU made his way slowly down the hall. He stared at the egg-white shade walls that seemed to stretch endlessly into the distance. Every 5 meters, white, metallic, automatic doors could be found on either side of the narrow hallways, on the left side were giant, jet black odd numbers spray painted on the center of these doors, on the right were the even numbers, which were also spray painted on. There were large lights located along the roof, spread out evenly between each doorway. Soon RAU arrived at a large door with the number 9 on it. It opened at his motion, and he stepped inside, the door shut behind him rapidly. In the room was an egg-white bed, couch, and a small kitchen, obviously made to represent a normal house, there was also one window above the bed which faced a large field. RAU sighed softly, but the sound reverberated across his small room. He laid on his bed, and shut off for a while, only to be woken by the sound of a loud siren blaring in his ear.


	2. Chapter 2

Mechanical Vengeance chapter 2

The alarm blared loudly in RAU's ear as he snapped to attention, sitting upright almost instantly. He looked around, but there was nothing wrong. He allowed his HUD to appear in his vision, it was just an alarm set to wake him up at 5:00 in the morning every morning. Does this mean only he could hear it? He quickly walked to the door of his room, he walked back into the hallway, and instinctively turned to the right, back the way he came until he reached a larger grey door. He walked outside into the meadow he saw outside his cell. There were three buildings in the corner of the meadow, which he soon saw was fenced off by a large, metal electric fence. He instinctively walked over to the middle building, which was much bigger than the others. The doors opened as he stepped within their sensors, he walked through into what looked like a metal version of a hotel lobby. There was a receptionist behind a desk who had a bandage over one eye, she looked at RAU and opened a door on her left, and motioned for RAU to step inside.

"RAU, it's good to see you again, please, through here, your training room has been prepared."

Wait, again? Had she known him before? Maybe she's a friend? As he pondered who she was, and how she'd known him, he walked through the door, down a wooden hallways to another circular metal room, much like the first. The same voice could be heard throughout the room.

"Good morning RAU-9, i trust you slept well. Today we retrain you."

"Of course, what is my task?"

No response was heard, but the wall behind RAU collapsed to reveal an assortment of handguns, sniper rifles, and melee weapons. Each on its own rack.

"Pick what you wish, then we will suit you up."

RAU walked over to the wall and picked up two Glock 18's along with a riot shield, two machetes, a barret 50. cal, three hunting daggers, a bow, some arrows, 2 police batons, and a pump action 6 gauge shotgun. He stood there mindlessly, tossing the shotgun over and over in his hooves.

"Turn around, your suit is ready."

RAU turned around to face a navy blue chest plate, made of heavy kevlar, with navy blue arm guards with metal and kevlar guards along the wrist area, and a metal reinforcement bar along the length of the arm, same for the legs, the helmet covered everything except the eyes, and every weapon fit perfectly on the armor itself, as if they knew what he was going to choose. He turned towards the window where the sound came from, and he stared at the window as the voice was a little louder this time.

"You look perfectly terrifying."

"Thank you."

Just as RAU finished his sentence, A part of the wall collapsed, revealing 5 robots that looked similar to Humans. Each armed with a club made of oak. They stared him down with a cold, menacing glare that made him shudder just a little. The voice uttered one word in a monotone voice.

"Kill."

The robots instantly snapped to attention and made a dead sprint towards RAU, who managed to quickly draw the two batons, holding them like tonfas, ready for the attack. One of the enemies tried a quick downward strike at RAU's head, but it was quickly deflected to the side in one swift motion, leading to a swift uppercut by RAU into his opponent. This blow landed and left a dent in the robots armor, knocking him down to the floor. The other four attacked in quick succession with a series of rotating strikes from all directions, each one still being blocked by RAU. As each strike proved unsuccessful, the robots became more aggressive in their attacks, leading to quicker strikes, however RAU easily kept up. Blocking left and right, RAU occasionally landed a counter with the baton, usually to the knee or the jaw, leaving each robot incapacitated on the floor, sparking like a live severed wire. The voice spoke softer than usual.

"At least it can defend itself."

It was clear that he was speaking to his partner. Who was this partner? RAU took this opportunity to allow his HUD to fill his vision, the green hue was somewhat familiar, the time was located along with his shield capacity, charge, vitals, and some other bar which remained at 1% in the upper right, a green box was on the left of the large gear shaped circle in the middle. Along the left was a scrolling list of the commands he subconsciously ran to keep himself awake, along with a log of various errors that occurred. His vision zoomed in on the window where he knew the two were located as he focused. RAU switched his vision to penetrate the tinted windows, revealing two ponies in what appeared to be typical army uniforms, with two 3-burst assault rifles along the wall. Two armed guards stood on the interior of the door, in the room with the two men, and they were carrying shotguns, seemingly 12 gauge.

RAU looked through the other windows to see the rooms empty, all but one which contained spectators watching his every move, watching, judging, learning. He looked his captors in the eye through the window and practically yelled at them with a sudden burst of anger that rushed over him like a wave of lava.

"Why are they watching me! What right do you have to do any of this?! I demand to speak to the owner of this place!"

Whispers were heard over the mic.

"Shit, he's breaking free, send the guards in to sedate him."

RAU heard the door open in the room of the captors, it shut rather quickly. RAU sprinted to the door, and broke through without stopping, only being stopped when he collided with the wall. The two guards from the control room yelled something he couldn't understand. RAU turned towards them and drew his riot shield off his back and a single pistol and opened fire. He heard a voice in his head that sounded much like a person, yet a little like this person was on a small amount of helium, not unnatural though.

"Greetings, RAU-9, I am your AI assistant, I was installed to help you keep track of secondary details in any combat situation."

RAU found he was talking to himself just to respond to this new voice.

"Yeah? well if you're so helpful, find me a way out of this prison."

"My pleasure, just follow the holographic path I will lay out."

As RAU put the shield on his back, he reloaded his pistol and looked back up to notice a bright yellow series of dashed lines, heading down the hall and eventually breaking off to the right.

"Is this sufficient RAU?"

"You better not be yanking my chain…"

RAU ran along the path in front of him, turning where the lines turned, and entering rooms the path came to, he met no resistance as he made his way to the field.

"What do I call you?"

"Call me… Hmm… How about Condor? Condor is a cool name."

"Fine, fine, alright condor, show me the location of the guards around me within a ten mile radius, along with vehicles, artillery, and ordinance."

"You got it RAU, give me a second."

RAU ran behind a tree to catch his breath as the code log in the left shrunk, leaving room in the upper left which was soon filled by a small map with various red dots, many closing in on his location. From what RAU understood, there were 3 tanks, 5 juggernauts, and one pony with mortars. RAU sighed and dashed towards the closest point of the fence he could reach and he jumped over without hesitation. RAU hit the ground and realized he hit a hill as he started tumbling down and ended up in a small ditch. He stood up dazed and started running in no particular direction.

"H- hey you still alright in there bud?"

"Yeah RAU, i'm ok, question is how are YOU feeling?"

"I'm ok, it doesn't hurt too bad, look i don't mean to ask so much of you, but is there anywhere within a couple miles where I can hide? or even a town?"

"Yeah, there is, if you travel down the river to the south you will find the Crystal Empire, beyond that would be Ponyville and Canterlot if you think you can make it that far."

"Right, I guess it couldn't hurt to try."

RAU turned southward and started sprinting along the river bank. He ran for about an hour until he came across a small wooden house. The house was in great condition, and even had a garden in the front. The windows were clean and the interior that he could see was well maintained. He walked cautiously to the window and looked inside to find the house appeared to be empty. RAU walked to the door and cautiously opened the door and walked inside.

"Hello? Is anyone home?"

A voice came from the back of the house, it was a girl, however she didn't seem shocked by RAU's presence.

"Yes? who's there?"

"May I come in?"

"Is there trouble?"

"No, I just need to know where I am."

He heard the girl stand up and walk through the hallway on his left, after a few seconds he saw her, she was tall, with long hair, emerald green eyes and long legs. Her skin color was a light pink which complimented her eye color, she didn't seem scared by RAU's weapons and appearance as she mentioned him to sit on the couch, and he did with little hesitation.

"May I ask your name, sir?"

"I… really don't remember…"

"Do you go by anything at least?"

"Well, I was named RAU-9…"

"What a curious name."

"I know, what is your name?"

"My name is Lauren, it's a pleasure to meet you."

Just as RAU became comfortable, he could hear Condors voice, and the red blips appeared on the map yet again.

"Hey, um, don't get too comfortable, you got company."

"Shit…"

"What was that RAU?"

"Oh, uh, nothing Lauren, listen there are some people coming for me, I just need to hide out for a little ok?"

"Alright, just be safe."


	3. Chapter 3

Mechanical Vengeance chapter 3

RAU dashed deeper into the house, and found a staircase which led to a cellar. He couldn't see the bottom with regular vision, but he sped down anyways, shutting the door behind him. He heard the front door open and he heard his captors speaking with Lauren, yet he couldn't quite understand what they were saying through the amount of walls in between them. RAU stayed silent until the door shut again, then the house went silent. He walked upstairs and looked around the living room, seeing nothing, he went to the kitchen to find Lauren standing by the stove, cooking.

"RAU? Is that you?"

"Yeah, it's me."

"Who were those people?"

"It's a long story, but they sorta made me what I am."

"Ohhhh, why did you run away?"

"How did you know-"

"They said they were looking for a cyborg that went rogue and I can only assume thats you."

"Well… yeah…"

Lauren smiled and laughed a little, and it freaked RAU out that she wasn't scared of him. She handed him a glass of water and a small steak.

"I don't know if you eat, but heres a snack, also I know it's not much, but in my backyard I have a ton of computer scrap. Feel free to search through it and take what you want, I don't have any use for it."

"Thank you so much, I can't repay you for your kindness."

"It's no problem at all, you're the only company I have had in years, I feel it would be wrong to not help you."

RAU smiled at Lauren and opened the backyard to find a couple acres of nothing but scrap metal. He could see almost every type of spare part known to anyone. How long has this been accumulating? RAU started rummaging through the mountainous piles of scrap, but didn't find much of use, and what he did find was damaged. RAU immediately proceeded to repair as much as he could with what parts DID work, and managed to salvage enough parts to create something special. He only barely started when Condor chimed in out of nowhere.

"So… What do you think about that Lauren?"

"What do you mean?"

"She's pretty cute."

"Shut up."

"I'm just screwing with you dude, she's really nice though."

"I agree entirely, she just let me into her house, that's pretty generous."

"Maybe she will let you live here?"

"I think thats asking too much."

This conversation continued for an hour. RAU finally finished a small device that was a form of an SD card, but slightly larger. He turned it around in his hand and thought to himself about how long he could possibly hide.

"Condor?"

"Right here bud."

"Mind testing this thing for me?"

"Depends.."

"It's not dangerous, it either works or doesn't."

"Well fine I guess."

RAU sighed a little and installed the large drive in his arm, causing his vision to flash for a second with a loud ringing sound, followed by a message saying his creation was recognized and installed properly. Condor looked around and smiled.

"Niiiiiiice."

"Well what are you waiting for, come on out."

Condor disappeared from RAU's HUD and appeared in front of him. He stood about as tall as RAU did, but in the same greenish color as he was seen in the HUD. He also seemed to move fluently and with a sort of grace about him as he strode around in circles.

"This. Is. AWESOME!"

"Glad you enjoy it, consider it a little present for helping me escape with my life."

"So I can just appear, like, whenever?"

"Pretty much, but you can't touch anything and you can't leave a mile radius from me."

"You don't trust me?"

"No, my signal just wont reach that far."

They both laughed and stepped inside, and the AC felt nice after being outside for even an hour. They both walked together to the kitchen and RAU sat down and began to eat slowly. Condor walked around the house and looked at the paintings and furniture in each room. Lauren walked in just as Condor returned and she poked RAU's shoulder.

"Who's your friend?"

"Thats my AI, Condor."

"Pleasure to meet you Lauren."

"It's great meeting you too!"

"Hey, we have been meaning to ask, but would it be too much to ask if we could stay here a while."

"Well, sure I guess, stay as long as you need to."

RAU didn't look up from his food, he hadn't eaten in a long time and he had forgotten how good it felt to have a full stomach. He smiled at Lauren and Condor as they spoke and thought about what his life could have been like before all the drama. He listened to the two speak to each other and finally spoke when he finished eating.

"Thank you for the food Lauren, it was amazing."

"I'm glad you enjoyed it, please make yourself at home."

Lauren gave RAU a huge hug, and as he felt her arms around him, a weird feeling grew inside him, he felt as if there were no problems, no anger, he felt safe. He hugged her back and couldn't stop the grin that soon lit up his face. He didn't want to let go of her, her kindness, her generosity, everything about her was wonderful to him, and he finally realized it.


	4. Chapter 4

Mechanical Vengeance Chapter 4

After RAU let go, he quickly stood up and walked back outside to the scrap yard, Condor quickly followed and laughed a little as RAU sat next to an old computer. He sat next to Rau and looked at him.

"Someone's got feelings don't they?"

"S- shut up."

"I think you both would make a cute couple!"

"I swear to Celestia I will shut you down right now."

"Dude just get to know her, maybe you will get her to like you."

RAU sighed softly and looked down in front of him at the dirt. He twiddled his hooves and started thinking to himself. Condor soon got up and walked further into the scrap yard and came back only minutes later. RAU was still thinking to himself.

"Hey, you ok buddy?"

"I don't know what to do.."

"You do love her don't you?"

"Yeah."

"Just talk to her and get to know her, that should work."

RAU sighed again and slowly stood up, he walked inside, but Lauren was nowhere to be found. RAU looked all around the downstairs area, and soon decided to go upstairs. He walked down a narrow hallway decorated by pictures and paintings, until he came upon her bedroom. He slowly opened the door, and saw Lauren reading a book on her bed, she wasn't wearing a shirt, however, and her hair indicated she had just taken a shower. RAU took a deep breath and knocked on the door, Lauren turned the page, but didn't make any motion to cover her chest.

"Come in."

RAU opened the door and walked inside, he sat on the bed with his armor jutting into his sides, which caused some discomfort.

"Hey, I want to thank you for taking me in, I don't know how i could possibly repay you."

"Having company is thanks enough, it's been very lonely since my husband left me, and any company I can have is wonderful."

"You had a husband?"

"Yeah, he was a sweet guy, but he was arrested for trespassing on some guys property."

"I'm sorry to hear that."

"It's alright, I know he's watching over me, and he will always be here to watch over me, even though he is dead…"

"He sounds like a good man."

"He is, anyways, where do you come from?"

"I don't know where I actually came from, I don't remember anything except where I was held captive."

"Hm, so it seems we have both lost something…"

"Guess you could say that."

RAU heard condor laughing downstairs at the tv that had been left on, but he ignored it and he felt the feeling return and he put his arm around Laurens shoulder.

"If you need anyone to talk to, just let me know."

Lauren didn't say a word, but instead she put her head on his chest and started crying. RAU put his arms around the back of her head to make her feel like he is the only thing there. She cried for a good hour, then started to calm down as she stayed in his arms. She tried to speak, and RAU could barely understand.

"Thank you… Thank you for showing me that there is someone like me… Someone who has nothing.."

RAU put his hoof under Lauren's chin and tilted her head up, forcing her to look into his eyes, or what was visible of them.

"You're never alone Lauren, just remember that."

She nodded and put her head on his shoulder and she whispered in his ear.

"R- Rau…?"

"Yeah Lauren..?"

"C… can you stay with me for a while…?"

"You should sleep Lauren.."

"then at least watch over me while i sleep…?"

RAU thought for a second, then hugged Lauren tight.

"Of course."

Lauren laid down and climbed under the covers, she reached behind her and pulled RAU next to her, and put his arm around her. He realized what she meant by watching over her. She fell asleep quickly, and he didn't want to get up, he made a promise to protect her while she slept. Hours passed of silence when RAU picked up a soft whirring sound, which he recognized instantly as the sound that he made before any fight. RAU stood up and quickly drew two of his knives as he looked out the window. Two figures stood by the door, both armed with military grade assault rifles and high powered tac-10 handguns on holsters. RAU quickly scanned both the men, and saw they were the two who had tested him. He put one of the knives away and drew a handgun. A loud sound was heard and the pistol flew out of RAU's hand, and landed by the door. RAU traced the trajectory of the shot to a tree half a mile away, and he could see a figure suspended from one of the branches. RAU ducked down and drew his sniper and aimed out the window, the figure had disappeared. RAU then heard the sound of the door being broken down and the "Oh shit!" of Condor could be heard. The broken glass made a crunching sound beneath his feet as he ran to the stairs, but found one who looked much like him, armor and all, but with a different set of weapons. It's eyes glowed red like blood and it's voice sounded like someone threw a Speak and Spell into a trash compactor.

"Cease and Desist, you are wanted on accounts of going rogue."

"I will never give in!"

The robot quickly grabbed a revolver off its' holster and aimed it at RAU's head, and with a stern voice, demanded again.

"Come quietly or you will be shot."

RAU quickly assessed the situation, grabbed his spare handgun, and shot just in front of his counterparts feet, hitting a pipe which caused steam to spray up in a thick fog. Since his foe was temporarily blinded, RAU fired a few quick shots into the steam. Sparks flashed with each shot, then something hit the floor. The steam soon cleared, but the machine wasn't there, in fact the house was quiet, but he knew it would return some day. RAU put his gun away and headed back upstairs, where Lauren was holding the gun he lost, aiming at the doorway.


	5. Chapter 5

Mechanical Vengeance chapter 5

Lauren quickly glanced at RAU and put the gun down, her hands shaking violently. RAU looked at Lauren to check for any injuries, the job was easier because she still had nothing covering her chest. After checking until he was satisfied that they didn't hurt her, he slowly walked over. Lauren jumped out of bed and ran into RAU's arms, sobbing.

"R- RAU!"

"Shhh it's ok Lauren, it's all ok, everything is fine…"

He held her head on his chest, and she could hear his slow, steady heartbeat pulsating through her ears in a way that made her feel safe. She wrapped her arms around him and kept weeping, and almost immediately she felt his warm hoof move slowly and gently down her hair. His soft, melodic voice filled the air with a lullaby she had never heard before. After he was done singing, she led him over to the bed and they both sat down.

"RAU I thought… I thought you were…"

"Hey hey hey… don't think like that Lauren.. ok…? It's perfectly ok…"

"Did they hurt you…?"

"No…"

"RAU thank you for protecting me like you promised… I never thought I would have a friend who would kill to make me safe…"

"I never thought I would have a friend who accepted me for what I am… looks like we both guessed wrong…"

RAU laid Lauren across his lap, then picked her up like a parent holds their kid in their arms. She looked him in the eyes and he was sure she was blushing. He carried her to the living room and they sat on the couch. Lauren picked up the remote and flipped the channel to a game show and she grabbed a blanket off the table and covered them both. Condor materialized out of nowhere and looked at both of them.

"You both look so cute together."

"Goddamnit Condor knock it off."

"RAU it's fine, he can say what he wants, all I care about right now is spending time with my best friend."

RAU smiled and Condor disappeared. After the game show ended, Lauren sat up and whispered in RAU's ear in a soft tone, like she suspected Condor was listening.

"Hey, do you mind if I go upstairs for a little?"

"Go right ahead Lauren, if you need anything, just call for me."

"Thank you RAU, I will."

Lauren walked up the stairs slowly, she stopped in the middle of the stares and glanced at RAU, then proceeded back up the stairs. Most of the day passed without a word from anyone, but RAU didn't mind, he stayed on the couch watching anything that was on. At around 7:33 in the evening, he heard Lauren call down from her room.

"RAU? Can I have a glass of water please?"

RAU yelled back to her with no hesitation at all.

"Yeah, just give me a minute."

RAU got off the couch and poured a glass of water and put a few ice cubes in it. He walked up the stairs and opened the door to Lauren's room. She was sitting on the bed and when he opened the door, she stood up completely and walked over to him.

"RAU? I was thinking about how you saved me, and I was thinking of ways to pay you back…"

"Pay me back?"

"Yeah.. I want to repay you for saving me."

Lauren licked her lips and winked at RAU, who instantly realized what her payment was.

"W- wait Lauren are you sure you want to do this?"

Lauren made RAU sit on her bed and she sat in his lap. He welcomed the feeling of her warm body on his. He put his hooves on her waist and stared into her eyes.

"You deserve this RAU, now just relax.."

Soon they both lost their clothes, Lauren turned out the lights, letting only the moon illuminate the room. She immediately went to work on him, doing everything she could imagine to show her thanks to RAU, but the act itself was more than a thank you to him. After an hour and a half of tossing, turning, sweat, and moans, they both lay together in bed, holding each other close as they both dozed off.

The next morning came quickly. They both woke up at the same time, and stared into each others eyes. Neither one spoke for a good five minutes, but finally Lauren broke the ice.

"L- last night was fun."

"Yeah, it felt great too."

She kissed his lips, which shocked him, but as she pulled away, he followed her, he didn't want any of it to end. Another five minutes passed before they both pulled away. Lauren stood up, and RAU watched as she got dressed in front of him, he too got up and dressed in front of her. They walked downstairs together and they both cooked breakfast. Finally they sat down and stared into each others eyes as they talked about the day ahead of them


End file.
